The early-year slowdown at the box office brought an unpleasant surprise for workers at Alamo Drafthouse: nationwide layoffs. But unionized employees at three of the dine-in chains theaters in Colorado and New York pushed back.

The move marks an escalation in labor unrest over a round of layoffs that Alamo Drafthouse conducted nationwide in early 2025.

Workers are striking at the Alamo Drafthouse on Colfax Avenue in Denver. Employees are asking them to rehire 11 workers who were laid off.

Update: The employees of the two unionized Alamo Drafthouses in New York City have joined the Sloans Lake location in Colorado in striking. Workers at the lower Manhattan and downtown Brooklyn theaters made good on the same threats Sloans Lake employees did to walk out and strike following layoffs due to seasonal slowdown.

Staffers at a unionized theater in Colorado have joined their New York colleagues in protesting cuts at the Sony-owned theater chain.